Yellow folder

Hi. Sorry to hear about your husband. My hubby is just about to start chemo soon to try to stem his cancer for a bit but we have been told he probably has a year to live. I’ve never heard of the yellow folder though. My husband has already said that he wants to be at home when the time comes - as he was actually born in the house that we now own- so I’m hoping someone can shed some light on this for me as well. 

Take care of yourself and always here for a chat if you need   someone to talk to 

Morning both.

I don’t always come on here now as my husband (52) sadly died 6 weeks ago. But I try and give support to others where I can.

Ive not heard of the yellow folder but if you’ve not done so already I would ask your Macmillan nurses at hospital to refer you to local hospice, as long as your husband’s are okay with that (was a struggle with my husband and he only really agreed two weeks before he died). Once we were referred to them it seemed to open up so much more support. They seemed to have a ‘speed dial’ to our GP surgery which was great and can also refer to other support if needed, such as home assessments for extra care etc. My husband also wanted to be at home all the time though we never ever talked about him being terminally ill, just focused on each new treatment. Sadly my husband died in hospital alone as he had gone in for a procedure with an overnight stay and passed away the following morning. But I can honestly only praise all the support we had started to receive from so many agencies following the hospice referral. It was just too late for my hubby as he was so weak by then but only wanted me caring for him really. 

Reach out for help where you can, it makes a huge difference.

I wish you both all the luck in the world and hope for miracles for you. Treatment is forever improving x

Hi. 
I’ve done a bit of Googling and it seems the yellow folder is used in some areas regarding final wishes. 
its lovely if you Bramblejoo to still offer support for others going through  this when you are already having to deal with losing your husband. I hope you are getting support too 
I will definitely reach out for help as time goes on. At the minute we are ok and coping (sort of) it’s just later in that I’m worried about but I know Macmillan will help as much as they can. 

Im sure my hubby will be open to help as he lost his Mum and Dad to cancer 25 years ago and Macmillan were a massive help to them then. We also have a really good local hospice too. x x 

Hi so sorry to hear about your husband you have gone through  so much yet your hear helping us thats such a lovely  thing to do

Thank you for your reply so sorry about your husband you have been through so much yet here you are helping others you are a lovely person to be helping others out all the best 

Hi Hondabike

So sorry to read that your husband has terminal cancer what a shock for you. My thoughts are with you at this difficult time. It’s all a bit of a minefield finding your way around things when you’re in shock  

My husband has a yellow folder which sits in our kitchen. It hasn’t been used yet but it’s my understanding that’s its for medical practioners to use as a summary of medical info for any medical practioners that come to the house - a bit like the medical notes that nurses and doctors refer to if you are in hospital. ie drug charts etc. We were given one because my husband has completed an ‘end of life care plan’ ( this document keeps changing its name so I’ve probably not used the correct one here) which lives in this folder, and our intention is for my husband to stay at home for as long as I can cope. His district nurse sorted the folder so it’s ‘ready’. If you are in touch with the district nurse or a MacMillan nurse they will be able to explain about it to you, if you haven’t managed to find this out already.

Take care and look after yourself.